This is the home of the Dolvin Consulting Blog. Dolvin Consulting is an Information Technology firm providing computer & technology services as well as finance software & ERP systems to companies in the retail, distribution, manufacturing, and related industries in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

In the constant struggle to improve efficiency in your
warehouse operations, save costs and improve profitability we look for the big
hit opportunities.There are often low
lying fruit or options more easily implemented that go a long way to help.When combined with other efforts the savings
can add up quickly.

The first and foremost issue is having a “system”,
reproducible and predictable.The system
should be part of your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.The ERP system provides the framework to implement,
track and measure your efforts.

Did what you just
implement actually save time and effort of your staff and add overhead
someplace else?

Use your system.Track and measure to get baseline figures of your current efficiencies
or lack of them.Then do the best you
can to change one thing at a time so you can more easily identify its success
or effect.This may be the hardest part,
but the most important.Your
organization needs to do this regardless and periodically to determine if you
have outgrown your current system.Analysis can take a bit of effort initially, but maintaining becomes
routine and not difficult.The results provide
criteria for new solutions.

You do not need to
be actively looking for a new solution to find out if you are doing the best
you can with your current resources.

What are some relatively simple things that can be done?

Look at how your
warehouse is physically organized.Is it possible to rearrange some of the products for more efficient
order picks?If you cannot move the
product, how about changing the order the products print?How about voice picking options?A lot of time can be wasted by having workers
walking back and forth.What would your
day be like if you just walked back and forth versus starting at one point and
ending up at the other end?

Do you bulk pick
then sort and pack or do you pick each order individually.No right or wrong answer here, just food for
thought.It is okay to do a combination
of both pick methods.What picking
process minimizes employee overhead and increases efficiency.

Separate the high
volume (movement) products to one area so that the 80/20 rule applies.Pick 80 percent of your orders in 20 percent
of your space.

Keep bulk, case,
or pallet picks in a different area than the individual items. This is especially true if you are mixing
forklift and foot traffic.Taking advantage
of these separated areas also helps with stock rotations and physical inventory
counting.Cases are typically easier to
count than individual items.

You generally want
to cross train your warehouse staff in case of absenteeism. It also makes sense to keep people who know
your products as near as possible to the products they know.It saves a lot of time when an employee knows
right where to go versus having to search isles or bin locations for your
products.

Work on
determining and maintaining optimum stocking levels.Less inventory is generally better for the
budget.Too little means customers may
have to wait and might go else ware.Perishable
items have really limited shelf life and benefit particularly well from safely
reduced levels.

There is an
optimum inventory level that is different for each organization and each item
within that organization.Many so
called experts will tell you industry averages and that you should be here or
there.You know your business better
than anyone and equally as important you know your customers.Do what is right, but balance that with the
knowledge that improvements can be made even in well organized and run
warehouses.Those improvements are
driving forces behind a great Return on Investment (ROI).

If you handle your
own routes and deliveries, find out if your ERP system has a module or
integration with a service like UPS’ Roadnet.Software of this type organize your deliveries in the most efficient
route and create reverse load sheets for your vehicles.Save time, save fuel, save energy, save,
save, save.

One of the most
critical assets of an organization is employees.They know what is going on and if you empower
them, they will return many times the investment.Give them the tools and resources available in
your budget and they will produce.You
may not be able to do everything, but small incremental acknowledgements can go
a long way.

Ask yourself if
you would want to work for yourself.There is a show on television where the company boss works anonymously
in his own organization.What lessons
can be learned?What bigger lesson is
learned if your people do not know who you are?Are the executives separated in some ivory tower?The whole organization needs to know,
understand, and work together.There
should be a time every year where every (yes every) manager and executive has
to work in the warehouse, the kitchen, or sweeping the floors and emptying the
trash.Everyone is valuable and
needed.Take some leadership initiative
and make sure you are working as a team.

There are a lot of places where small incremental changes
can combine to generate big savings.There is not enough space here to list everything, nor would everything
be appropriate for every organization.This is where Dolvin Consulting can
be your Trusted Advisor.We help
companies identify and streamline their operations so they reduce their costs
and become more profitable.Contact us today.